For doing the right thing, McConnell loses support

For his pivotal role in ending the government shutdown and at least temporarily avoiding the government's default on its loans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has earned the wrath of the most conservative wing of his own Republican Party.

However, while he may have lost some votes from tea party Republicans, McConnell did the right thing by working with Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nevada, to broker a compromise that helped reopen the government, and we even support him for helping to secure $2.9 billion in additional funding for a troubled lock and dam project on the Ohio River.

Our reasoning is simple: Allowing the federal government to default on its loan obligations or killing a project that is critical to transporting goods on the Ohio River had the potential of devastating the economy of this region. ...

Yet the ink was hardly dry on the bipartisan bill that reopened the government and continued funding for the lock sand dam project before the Senate Conservatives Fund endorsed Matt Bevin, a little-known tea party conservative who is challenging McConnell for the GOP's nomination in next May's Republican primary. McConnell is seeking a sixth six-year term.

The Senate Conservatives Fund was established by former Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint who is now head of the conservative Heritage Foundation. DeMint has angered establishment Republicans by encouraging primary challenges, some of which resulted in unexpected Democratic Senate wins in 2012 and cost the GOP a chance at gaining a Senate majority.

Just what impact the SCF's endorsement of Bevin will have on the 2014 Senate Race in Kentucky remains to be seen, but for our part, while we can think of many reasons to criticize McConnell's action during the last six years, working to reopen the government and to assure the funding continues for the Olmstead Locks and Dam project in western Kentucky are not among them. ...

People like DeMint and Bevin don't seem to care what impact their positions will have on the nation's economy, and they seem to have no interest in seeking compromises with those who oppose them. That's a recipe for bad government.

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For doing the right thing, McConnell loses support

For his pivotal role in ending the government shutdown and at least temporarily avoiding the government's default on its loans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has earned the wrath of the most